Plane of Salt
Time in the Quasiplanes: In case you wondered, time in the quasielemental planes is measured by the pulses of the energy planes. It's not perfectly reliable, but those attuned to the plane's nature can feel enough to get through their routines, if they have any. salt shakers quakers mormons PRESERVATION ghostquakers? Mormonmentals? the Spell of Preservation -- it's as if nothing can change here draining of souls conquest thirst deccication the River aka the Changeling aka Old Man. dehydration Abortion the Stilling water is life is birth is creation is freedom is transformation Salt Flats (border with Vacuum). The Teeth of Maaleh Enormous pillars of ivory thrust through the saltlands, sharply pointed. Salty vulture animentals burrow about, picking the Teeth clear of all other forms of life. Even the fundamentals have very short lifespans here. You'd never know it from looking at the surface, but Maaleh is the site of the major outpost of the race of Marid on the plane of Salt. The Teeth are *hollow*, and filled with clear water and a typical coral-and-preciousrarematerial genie dwelling. There's no opening, but the genies teleport in and out what and who they desire. The maridim are friendly enough to non-saline lifeforms, and are even willing to overlook the salt found in the bodies of most Prime Material natives, so relieved are they to be distracted from the tedium and annoyance of the plane on which they're stationed. They may even aid their visitors in some way, if they are sufficienctly amusing and promise to return. The dark of the Teeth: These maridim aren't stationed here to gain allies among the quasielementals or to watch the Facets, though there are individuals doing these things as we sit here jabbering. The maridim live in the Teeth because they are confused. Long ago, they offended some petty saltlord by trying to forcibly impress it into the service of the Padisha. More clever than anything as stable as salt ought to be, the lord managed, through refracted thought and drained reason, to convince the maridim that they were home, and the genies settled down where they stood, wondering what happened to the neighborhood. They're aware, of course, of their salty surroundings, and frustrated by it. Repeated petitions to their shah to do something about the sudden influx of riffraff in their vicinity have met with no response, and with every pulse it becomes more likely that one of them will go out and give someone a tongue-lashing (and likely become entirely drained). Salt in the Wound is a ruvoka community in a medium-sized saltcrack with a natural channel like a dry riverbed, a "wadi," named Tears of Salt. The ruvoka, or the Wakna as they call their tribe, are of a little below average height, with pale white-blue skin, long slender fingers, generous body-fat, balding heads, major access to the druidic sphere of Water and minor access to Earth. They wear what hair they have in long braids; the females wrap them into buns or around their heads, necks and ears. The Wakna are strongly matriarchal, and worship the salt gods Dandreth, Death of Seas and Adrammelech, the Infertility Goddess. Wakna religious life is segregated by gender: the males pray to Dandreth before traveling or hunting, while the worship of Adrammelech takes place in spacious lodges, where all the women explore the goddess' mysteries. The Wakna build igloos made of salt bricks and hunt hlach, and salt penguins. They use giant animental mantises as beasts of burden, something that would be fatal to almost any less nature-sensitive race. The Wakna were driven from the plane of Earth millenia ago by the Horde Creatures, and lived for a time in Ash before finally settling here. Current Chant: The Wakna have discovered an artifact called the Blunder Cap which allows for lightning-quick teleporting and planeshifting: you can't predict where you'll go, but you can get back quickly. They're considering using it against their old enemies the Horde, but are afraid of what greedy powers may align against them if their treasure is discovered. Crackers when it rains, it pours salt funnel PH Neutral acid salt basic salt Epsomnia Slick tunnels wind through the expanses of crystalized deadwater. They are dark, they are warm, they are polished, and they are probably the fastest route through the quasiplane. The guardians of the Epsomnia Tunnels are the Crusty Gods, terrible creatures, the spawn of elementals and unknown demiurges. Generally, they ask for scented waters, or especially sweetwater and potions of healing, as a toll. |The dark of Epsomnia is that the whole place is way too nice. 'Course, it'll still drain you of your water as quickly as any other spot on the plane, but it'll cut down on your travel time like nothing else. Whoosh! You go sliding down its dark meanderings, and you're on the other side before you can say, "Are you going to finish that beer?" There really doesn't seem to be a drawback; no mysterious disappearances or hidden devouring maws on the other side, nothing. Just a smooth, wild ride that hardly ever makes you sick once you get used to it. One thing, though: some report strange visions in the darkness, and that they sometimes even come true once you're out. I don't know what to make of that. The Saltunnels of Ooze the Obstruction is a giant clog in the Salttunnels of Ooze. Soda Ash: makes glass and soap lye antiseptic The whole plane is laced with negative energy, manifesting in the crystalline matter in a lattice-like form. Some seek it, especially the Primals. Primals on Salt dwell in hidden nooks and covens in the major cities. Ask no more. Saltpetre borders the realm of Smoke Powder near the plane of Ash and Dust. I don't know anything about saltpetre. Halite, rock salt, is actually on the realm of MIneral. j la la l al la la a Saltquake! The town of Blood Pressure Salt is thicker than Blood In Salt of the Blood the crystals turn red and dark. Salt of the Earth brine saltwater taffy Echidrine: Licinius Julianus, a warlord of unknown origin but whose face was a pale blue skull, founded a city in Salt over a thousand years ago. Ghouls, spectres, and skeletal warriors flocked to his banner. He established firm laws, monumental architecture, clear roads in the salt, and a culture glorifying military prowness. The citizens spar daily, preparing for the next stage in their state's expansion, ruled by an elected Senate (Julianus having disappeared centuries ago). Echidrine also trades with some local crysmals and mephits, exchanging finished weapons for raw material mined from the extremely sharp veins of crystal that lace the plane. The undead of Echidrine are organized into blood-houses (not that any of them have blood, anymore), or adopted clans. The fractious politics of the state are generally kept in control by the Senate and their military arm, the Stiff Robed Fishers. The Hall of Thickening is not the Senate House. It is the place of registry for new recruits, more of which arrive every kilopulse. The living, too, may be registered in one blood-house or another, if they have the will. Drensolg: Drensog was founded by a heucuva or possibly a clerical lich in the indeterminate past. The creature, known only as Mauer, founded a state worshipping the element of salt itself. A tight theocracy of which Mauer is the absolute master, Drensolg has grown since then, with a half-hearted arts program and a conservative nature. Currently stirred up into a paranoid frenzy by the expansionist actions of Echidrine across the waterless sea, Drensolg is *not* a welcoming place at the moment. Laws here are enforced by golems and living statues made of salt. Two huge chemical plants dominate the barren landscape, turning salt into purple dye and shipped abroad in expertly crafted ka-jars. Mauer is known for its fondness for moist young ghouls of either sex, but what it does to them is a mystery. The Dark of Drensolg: The ka-jars have lately occasionally contained something other than dye: messages. It seems that some element in Drensolg is seeking allies among the enigmatic elemental spirits of the plane for a possible coup, though what price they might ask is anyone's guess. They might want to be worshipped in the land's shadowy temples, or they might wish tribute of the sort that Mauer now gets. critters: salt golems crystal warriors ruvoka (wakna) elf construct facetwarriors guard the Stilling. salt penguins sloggosh hlach salt fish salt crocodiles galeb duhr crysmal khagra salt vultures salt crocodiles salt mantoids salt raptors Facets, Thirst Elementals, Salt mephits molewhales saltwraiths saltmummies Barbary Floyd is the leader of a salt mephit tribe. He's young for a mephit, created from elemental energies but three decades ago by the tribe's previous leader, who gave him a rakish name suitable for a member of a band of proud raiders. Floyd had other ideas, however. As soon as he had learned as much as he thought he could, he slew his creator and declared for the tribe a new direction. They would be *civilized* mephits, loved by members of every saline race. Floyd is sullen and sarcastic and occasionally violent, but has a magnetism about him that inspires loyalty. His people call him "The Bloodless King;" an accurate enough description. Presently, the tribe works as janitors-for-hire in a minor quasielemental kingdom with little need for such mundanities, but the King assures them this is only a stepping stone to something much greater. They believe him. Barbary Floyd's dark is his addiction to lye. He can't get enough of it, and it's only available in urban centers. This is the only reason why he lurks there. He has no greater plan, but will eagerly do anything for anyone who can supply him with his next hit: steal, lie, or even murder. As it happens, his tribe *is* destined to become great, riding the wave of a great fad for mephit tonechefs among salt quasielementals. It seems that, for the next few gigapulses, there will be a great demand for the peculiar aharmonic method of food seasoning popularized by the mephits of Floyd's region, and Barbary Floyd's tribe will lead the way. The rare salts to be made will likely set most of the tribe for life, although Floyd himself will likely die of lye poisoning sometime before then, the build up of ash in his body eventually becoming too great. Quasielementals A Chinese Portrait: A Natural Phenomenon The evaporation of your last supply of water in a barren desert. A Metal Sodium An Animal A starving leech. A color White A mythological Being Tantalus A famous Human Being Joseph Kennedy, Jr. A human activity Blood-drinking. A work of Art: Neoclassical sculpture A weapon: A scalpel, used to slash a wrist. An object A sponge. Thirst Quasielementals Familiarity: A salt quasielemental will establish a relationship with anyone who offers it water, especially if they waste some of it. Demands: Salt quasielementals desire manageable offerings of water, especially exotic flavors. Benefits: A powerful salt quasielemental will grant shamans, quasielemental priests, and sha'irs spells dealing with negative energy and reversed clerical water spells. Unpowerful quasielementals will willingly act as guides. History: The kingdoms of salt are very old, and haven't significantly changed since the beginning of time. Some claim they are older than water itself, and started absorbing it only in order to have a place in the new multiverse created from the watery void. Once they started, they can't stop, for fear that they once again become trapped outside reality. Spiritual correspondences: Draining, Dryness, Absorption, Conquest, Thirst, Stagnation, Preservation, Abortion, Death Material correspondences: Salt and salts. Taboos: A salt quasielemental can never be immersed in water. Attitude: Neutral towards outsiders, if a bit sycophantic. Dandreth, Death of Seas Intermediate Power, "Old Wasting" AoC: The destruction of water Alignment: N WAL: any Symbol: An eel, twisted like a noose. Home P/R:Quasielemental Plane of Salt/Transcendence It is said that entire oceans have fallen to this predatory god, seagods left twitching in the silt like beached squid. Myths have it that Dandreth had a quarrel with the powers of Water, and vowed that he would have revenge. In truth, Dandreth simply is, and bears no malice about it. Dandreth is a beautiful god, looking like a vague humanoid shape with limbs ending in short tentacles, glowing with mother-of-pearl irridescence. Dandreth has an alliance with certain solar powers who offer allies and secretive help. His realm is mountains and hills of salt under a cloudless blue sky, with the occasional skeleton of some unknown leviathan poking out. Dandreth's favored proxy is a creature like a long eel who boils the sea in which it swims. Dandreth is worshipped by creatures of salt and bitter survivors of shipwrecks, and the haters of maritime nations. Adrammelech, Infertility Goddess Lesser Power, "Wait a minute... you're not my mother!" AoC: barren fields, dead plants, childless couplings, births and pregnancies gone awry Alignment: NE WAL: any Symbol: fetal skeleton Home P/R: Plane of Salt/Stillbirth Adrammelech was shunned by her husband in the dawntime and in revenge has sworn to devour the issue of his new wife and their descendents, which could be any number of races. She is worshipped by dying races and peoples, and creatures of Salt. Her realm is a barren desert sown with salt. It is thought she may have a realm in the plane of Dust as well. Her proxies look like small children.